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Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), 8 June 1977.

Commentary - International special sign

[p.1295] Annex I, Chapter VI -- Works and installations containing

dangerous forces

Annex I, Article 16

-- International special sign

[p.1296] General remarks

4321 The works and installations containing dangerous forces described in Article 56

' (Protection of works and installations containing

dangerous forces), ' paragraph 1, of the Protocol may be marked with

the international special sign in order to facilitate their

identification. (1)

4322 The special sign is defined in paragraph 7 of the above-mentioned article. The expression "special sign" is used in that article,

whereas Article 16

of Annex I refers to the "international special

sign".

4323 At the second session Committee III, which was responsible for studying the ICRC draft text relating to the protection of works and

installations containing dangerous forces (Article 49 of the draft),

adopted a text which did not describe the special sign. At the fourth

session a Sub-Working Group was established by the Working Group of

Committee III to make recommendations concerning this sign. (2)

4324 Committee III adopted by consensus the sign proposed in the Sub-Working Group's report, leaving the Drafting Committee to decide

where the article relating to the sign should be placed in Annex I.

The final text of the existing Article 16

was prepared by the

Drafting Committee, which retained the title proposed by the

Sub-Working Group, namely, "International special sign". (3)

Paragraph 1

4325 In some countries, national signs and notices in the national language are used to mark works and installations containing

dangerous forces of all types. International signs have also been

devised to mark certain works from which dangerous forces such as,

for example, radioactive matter might be released. The International

Atomic Energy Agency has established international sign enabling

radioactive matter to be identified.

[p.1297] 4326 It was therefore necessary to have a specific international sign which could be used to mark the works and installations described in

Article 56

' (Protection of works and installations containing

dangerous forces), ' paragraph 1, of the Protocol, since such works

and installations enjoy special protection.

4327 Geometrically, the sign described in this paragraph is easy to make and calls for no particular comment. It is perhaps less easy to

make advance arrangement for adequate supplies of the materials

required to mark a nuclear power station or the walls of a dyke or

hydroelectric dam with three large circles. The amount of bright

orange paint or self-adhesive material required to block out circles

several metres in diameter raises a problem of supplies and stocks

which will have to be solved at the same time as the difficulties

involved in affixing the sign to a rough concrete surface or the

causeway of a dyke. It would be simpler to use sheets of bright

orange fabric or plastic. In any event, many problems in respect of

resistance to bad weather, heat, cold, wind and air pollution will

have to be overcome in order to ensure the sign's durability.

4328 The trichromatic co-ordinates of the bright orange colour were not defined by the Working Group. Nevertheless, it would be useful

for such a definition to be worked out and inserted for information

in Annex I when the latter is revised.

Paragraph 2

4329 The sign must be clearly visible from an aircraft flying either towards the ground or horizontally. The visibility tests carried out

on the red cross as seen from the air and described earlier in the

introduction to Chapter II ' (The distinctive emblem) ' of Annex I

provide useful comparative data. (4) As to the sign's visibility, the

commentary on Articles 3

' (Shape and nature) ' and 4

' (Use) ' (5)

of Annex I also holds good for the international special sign.

Paragraph 3

4330 If necessary, flags of different shapes or sizes may be prepared in advance with a view to marking dykes, dams or nuclear power

plants. Masts, cables or panels may also be installed in advance so

that the flags may be displayed rapidly as and when required. They

may be lighted at night or when visibility is poor. It is important

to check that a flag is clearly visible against the backdrop of the

countryside.

4331 As a comparison, the ICRC in some areas of armed conflict uses 10 x 10 m white flags bearing a red cross, displayed either vertically

against the wall of a building or horizontally on the roof.

[p.1298] Paragraph 4

4332 The remarks made in respect of the lighting or illumination of the distinctive emblem in the commentary on Article 3

' (Shape and

nature), ' paragraph 2, (6) of Annex I apply also to the

international special sign. The colour contrast of the three bright

orange circles under infrared observation could not be checked.

4333 Since bright orange and white have very similar rates of reflection under infrared observation, very little colour contrast

would be produced by placing the three circles on a pale ground such

as, for example, concrete walls.

4334 Data obtained by the ICRC on sets of measurements of radiation in the near infrared region (frequency 1,200 nm) showed that the

reflectivity of both white and bright orange is about 65%. Steps

should therefore be taken to ensure that the reflectivity of the

ground against which the three bright orange circles are placed, or

at least the area round their circumference, is as low as possible,

so that the geometric design of the international special sign stands

out by contrast.

4335 Further studies and tests should be conducted on the colour contrast produced by bright orange on different grounds under

infrared observation, in order to provide the additional data

required for the sign to be made visible to infrared detection,

particularly in aerial photography.

' Ph. E. '

NOTES (1) [(1) p.1296] Cf. commentary Art. 56 of the Protocol, supra, p. 665;

(2) [(2) p.1296] O.R. XV p. 456, CDDH/407/Rev.1, para. 31;

(3) [(3) p.1296] Ibid., pp. 471-473, CDDH/407/Rev.1, Annex I;p. 486 (Art. 49); p. 497, Annex;

(4) [(4) p.1297] Cf. introduction to Chapter II, Annex I, supra, p. 1167;

(5) [(5) p.1297] Supra, pp. 1173 and 1179;

(6) [(6) p.1298] Supra, p. 1173;